Christian Lamy, the deputy director of Script (the Ministry of Education's pedagogical and technological innovation research and coordination service), is positioned on one side of the debate, stating firmly that "holidays are holidays." Lamy is adamant that children have the right to relax and disconnect from education in order to be ready to start the school year, minds all fresh.
As Lamy put it, "children have the right to do nothing or to play. Playing, after all, is also a manner of learning."
Lamy does have a nuanced view when it comes to revising verbs, vocabulary, and maths. He pointed out that it's similar to sports: if you don't work out for eight weeks, you'll be out of form. The same applies to revision some forms of grammar. Naturally, Lamy added, this should not be exaggerated and the child in question should not be forced to work on verb conjugations if they are not feeling especially motivated.
The deputy director also highlighted that learning should not immediately mean opening up the school books. Instead, encouraging children to read, to write, and practice maths in different ways is incredibly beneficial. Lamy suggested parents could make day trips to the zoo or the forest learning experiences, moving away from exercise books and learning by experiencing.
Touching upon a point previously mentioned, Lamy highlighted that communicating with your children is crucial. Children spend their holidays in different ways: some go away for a month, others go to camps. The best method, Lamy suggested, is to provide a gentle reminder as September approaches.
Generally, the deputy director does not think that studying during the holidays is mandatory. Lamy explained that forcing children to work will also not be especially productive: "We can force children to do homework, but we can't force them to learn from that. Learning comes from the inside." Instead, Lamy suggested encouraging children, proposing a learning experience.
The main takeaway from Lamy's recommendations is that learning only truly works if you're in the right headspace and forcing children to study should above all be discouraged.
